Project Hail Mary – Film Review

Directors – Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Writers – Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
Stars – Ryan Gosling, Milana Vayntrub, Sandra Hüller

The sun is dying! There is a strange substance that has ‘infected’ most of the suns in the known Universe, causing them to dim and reduce the light they give off. This will cause havoc on Earth, with temperatures set to drop and food production to plummet.  Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is a teacher, but a paper he once published causes him to come to the attention of those investigating the strange happenings. Eva Stratt (a scene-stealing Sandra Hüller) is in charge of the scientists, and she brings Ryland into the team, working to solve the problem. This involves a trip to the stars to see the only Sun that has not been damaged by the substance and to find out the reason why!

This film is based on the book of the same name, written by Andy Weir. Weir is known for writing The Martian, which was adapted to the screen by Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon. This film is directed by the team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are known for The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street.

The film is billed as a Science Fiction epic, but a lot of it happens at close quarters, inside the ship. Grace encounters an alien life form, which he calls Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz). The two become friends, and a lot of the film is the banter and jokes between the two, as they try to solve the science-based problems. It’s much more problem-solving than it is space battles, which you’d associate with many other Sci-fi films. I’ll let others debate the merits of the science on display, but the premise does seem a little far-fetched. You’ll need to willingly suspend your disbelief in this as much as any other science fiction film.

If you’re expecting a harder edge to the tale, it’s not there. There are no bad guys, unless you’re blaming the black ‘substance’ for its crimes. The 12A rating will make this a family-friendly experience, and it’ll go down well with a younger audience. It’s a good-natured tale that brings a likeable double act of Grace and Rocky to save the known universe, using only their brains!